is thinner than our DT or even OT depth for 2011-12. Next 2 years we could end up having walk-ons in the 2 deep rotation at DE. It's tough to know which scholarship the last kid will go to. They could end up taking a DT like Shittu in the end, or an extra DE like Washington, or any one of 6 top OTs like Kalis, or Banner. I'd like another DT as well, but it will probably just play itself out in the end.

The coaches keep offering more kids at WR and OT, even this week they offered more so I have to imagine they'd prefer another OT or DT and aren't counting on Stanford and Washington. This is like the 2nd or 3rd time those two were supposed to make the relatively short day trip to 2A and skipped it. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but to me it looks like they aren't that interested and Wormley could be the last DE.

Wormley would end it for DEs. Our coaches are about done filling needs and will take the best athletes @ the end, regardless of position. They've been quoted as saying such multiple times. This is not about somebody's recipe, but about signing top talent. Our coaches are not following some needs recipe and you would not know what it is if they were.

This is the way Bo, Mo and Carr recruited and how GMattison always has. I was an M athlete 72-76 and have been following recruiting for over 40 years, starting w/ Joe Terranova, a young Lemming and Rivals and Scout since before they were Rivals and Scout. By the way, what if the coaches wanted Stanford and Washington to come together and maybe they wanted those 2, Wormley, Strobel & Kalis visiting at the same time?

Some people are saying that Wormley might grow into the 3 tech position. It is looking more likely that Godin will fill the SDE position because reports from the camps is that he has slimmed down and lost some of his bad weight.

We have Roh and Black at WDE, with Beyer coming in. SDE is a little more dicey next year, with RVB and Heininger leaving, but we have Wilkins and Rock arrives this fall. That's not great, but it's better than OT, where we will almost certainly have walk-ons on the 2-deep next year.

Wilkins is projected as a DT and Talbott at DT is waaaaay undersized and moderately injured I've read somewhere on MGoBlog so Wilkins could stay there, and Heininger isn't on scholarship (even though he's better than a few who are) but Rock and Beyer could very well redshirt. The same could go for Oline where unless Yerden or Bryant play as true freshmen well have Gunderson at walkon in the rotation. The only thing I wonder is which kids at which position (OT and DE) from which class (2011-2012) will play as freshmen? I can guess but I know that won't mean much.

I would have said that Yerden is the weightlifter that impressed the coaches. He hasn't played tons of football, but he is literally one of the strongest guys in the state. He has set weightlifting records, and they are going to see if his strength can translate to the football field. Interesting experiment - can't hurt to try . . .

went to a small up-north high school and his parents wouldn't let him play sports until his senior year for religeous reasons or something like that. He was allowed to weightlift because he set high school state deadlift records 4 years in a row (I believe). His senior year he played OT and DT in football, as well as Center for the basketball team. He's 6'6" and a very athletic 330 lbs. With his year of basketball I can imagine the coaches getting his footwork where it needs to be for RT faster than other prospects might.

the strage thing. He has made almost no impact whatsoever. No mention of any playtime during the spring game or anything like that. I saw 1/2 the walkons draw praise during the spring game but not him. He was bumped to linebacker because he's small but doesn't have any of the athletecism you'd need for OLB and Jake Ryan and Gordon have the Sam locked up. Magnus on Touch the Banner predicts him to be a special teams guy maybe.

I used to see him at south quad (I worked there) all the time. He is the nicest and most down to earth guy and probably my favorite on the team, but he is still smaller than one would like for a defensive end. Probably needs at least another year or two before he can contribute.

I love Valenti's show with Terry. He was upset today at the Michigan callers defending Michigan fans and the program. One thing that struck me is when Valenti said that MSU will get the number 1 ranked player in the state this year to which would make it three straight years for them. Ross or Richardson (depends on which recruiting expert it is) are number 1 right now in the state. Yes, things can change, but could he be talking about Burbridge?

He is an idiot and a blowhard. Even if Burbridge is considered the number 1, we will literally have nearly all of the 2-12ish in the state. I always thought the "need to win state recruiting battles" theme was a little overblown with RR (he should have won more though and missed out on some good talent and it is easier to recruit if you can take the best players from your area) but Hoke locking up the top talent in MI will send MSU into panic mode since unlike Michigan it can't recruit nationally (Pittman doesn't count). Their recruiting will be even more lopsided with one 4-5 star michigan recruit and a bunch of 3 stars after.

Mike Valenti is full of crap!!! He is playing games with UM fans and attempting to pull one over on us. By the way, I enjoyed his mini rant this afternoon. It's funny how he gets so worked up when the conversation revolves around U of M football. Hey Mike, just understand that we are a iconic brand with a LONG history of success!!!!! Enjoy your happiness for know msu. FWIW I think his tweet is garbage. No pickup tomorrow. Hope he was right though.

He went back and forth with a friend of mine for a while. May i add that this friend just graduated high school this year. Valenti tried to insult his intelligence about a tweet of my buddy's that he didn't understand which made complete sense. Always a class act...

Just joking, but what makes you feel that way, when O'brien is saying they are no longer his #1. The coaches have been cooling off on O' brien. But it looks like they have turned up the heat and he may have been waiting for that the whole time. I think he goes Blue!

on rivals and his offer list is underwhelming. I think Pitt and Virginia are his best offers. This page could be way outdated though. I am just wondering what other notable schools are offering. For whatever it's worth.

If we offer him then it looks as if it would be as a FB. Honestly, I don't think offer lists matter too much for a FB. If the staff thinks he could do the job, and since it appears they want a scholarship FB, then by all means lets take him.

I agree with this. Many teams don't use a fullback, some who do don't give them schollies, and even the teams who offer FBs only take one every few years. For a fullback to have any kind of offer list is impressive. Pitt, BC, Illinois, NW, UConn among others. It's not like it's all MAC teams.

him committing and that his offer list is whatev because he's a FB and whatnot. I'm just wondering what other big schools have offered him that aren't listed on rivals (and you've got UConn, Pitt, and ...yeah). The only (only) reason I'm asking is because it's been mentioned a couple times, not that it means a ton or anything in this case.

I like the versatility Hill provides. We're already recruiting a fullback or two in this class (Fatu), and our best shot at a true tailback, Dunn, is still technically commited to OSU. I know he doesn't have the sexiest offer list and the recruiting sites aren't enamored with him, but Hill ran an 11.00s 100m dash this past spring as a HS Jr. Source: Here. At 6'2'' 220 lbs, thats moving. If Hill jumps on board, we add possible depth at tailback and if that doesn't work out, he can fill the fullback need Hoke and co seem to want anyways.

Now i'll completely undermine everything I just said and question the timing of the offer, if it comes Wednesday. Why not ride the OSU shitstorm out and see what happens with Dunn? With his offer list, it seems like Hill would go Blue regardless of if the offer came tomorrow or in December. I've had similar questions with other offers--Gant vs Morgan, Olsen vs Diamond, Banner, etc. Then again, what do I know.

I concur with every single word you just said. Not that it matters, but I didn't feel like upvoting you was enough. I wanted you to KNOW that I agree with every word. Especially the part about offer timing re: Gant, Olsen, etc. Who knows how things would've shaken out with Morgan and Reeves had we held off on the Gant offer (and part of me really really thinks that we offered just because he's a legacy). And this whole OL mess is just ridic. If Bars, Keenan, and Olson all want us what, we're going to say f-off to Kalis, Banner, Garnett, and Peat? That's just unbelievable to me.

I don't think there's a problem taking Thompson at all. We'd really be taking 2 TE's, as Williams is 1/2 TE and 1/2 OL, and Thompson is 1/2 TE and 1/2 WR.. (/s)

But I don't think that would stop us from taking Stanford, if he warms up to us. Things seem to have been slowing down with Burbridge (haven't heard about him in a long time), so I'd be good with a class of Thompson and Stanford..

Where we can afford to be very very picky...I'm sure the coaches understand that but something tells me we are going to take a few 3 stars soon at the expense of some 4 stars. But hey, this is why the coaches get paid the big bucks, stars don't concern them, hope it pans out.